How to Start a Neighborhood Watch

Active Neighborhood Watch Groups

Many citizens have heard about Neighborhood Watch and wonder how to start a group. The first step is to check to see if your neighborhood has an existing Neighborhood Watch group. To see a list of Wheat Ridge's Neighborhood Watch groups, please visit Existing Groups.

Starting a Neighborhood Watch Group

If you check to see if there are any existing Neighborhood Watch groups are in your area and find that there are not any, please take the following steps:

Determine where you want to start your Neighborhood Watch group. This area should be no larger than a couple of blocks. Most of the people in the group should be able to see each other's homes. Pick a group that can get acquainted easily and are not all strangers.

Contact the Crime Prevention Team at the Wheat Ridge Police Department to get the materials you will need.

Review the materials so you know what is involved in running a Neighborhood Watch group.

Someone will need to be designated as the block captain for your group.

Host a meeting with the participants of your group. The Crime Prevention Team will make a presentation at your meeting. The presentation will talk about Neighborhood Watch, the crime statistics for your area, and crime prevention.

Make a commitment to crime prevention in your neighborhood.

After you have completed the previous steps, your Neighborhood Watch group will be up and running. The City of Wheat Ridge will provide Neighborhood Watch signs to your group, free of charge, and will coordinate with your block captain to determine where the signs will be placed.